Bottle handling mechanism



.Fam 22, 1935.7

R. J. WYNNE BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1935 .7 Shees-Sheet l .f. .6 www@ Wawy@ M Jan., 22, 1935. R. J. WYNNE BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 `Fam. 22, H935. R. J. WYNNE 1,988,963

,BOTTLE HANDLING MEGHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 l l e 4 O I .Vf-: :zhj @l Jan. 22, i935 R. J. wYNNE BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM 1.933 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 27,

am 229 E935. R. J. WYNNE BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1953 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 fr@ Wre ai? 23g/2222.6,

Jan., 22, 31935. R WYNNE v lg BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Jam 2% E935 Fa. J. WYNNE 31,9%@9953 BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1935 l'Shee'cs-Shee '7 l jay 145 142 Patented Jan. 22, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 1,988,963 BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Robert J. Wynne, Bellwood, Ill., assignor to Irving D. Porter,

River Forest, Ill.

Application September 27, 1933, Serial No. 691,123

8 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in bottle handling mechanism, and has for an object the provision of mechanism which may be used in connection with a type of bottle washer employing an endless conveyorA and having cleansing means operating on bottles during their path of travel controlled by the endless conveyor. In

machines of this character the bottle receiving CII mechanism and discharging mechanism have sometimes been placed at the feeding end of the machine for the purpose of permitting their operation and care by one attendant, and of course in this type machine the cleansing operations occur between the point of reception and the point of discharge. This is the character of machine with which I preferably employ my bottle handling mechanism.

Heretofore machines have been devised which discharge the bottles through the aid of gravity, but there have been various objections found in the types of discharge employed. One serious difficulty has been occasioned by the failure of the bottles to drop from their carrying pockets or baskets. This has been due in part to the construction of machines which have been designed to eject the bottles from their pockets when the pockets are at an angle of considerably less than 90 degrees. Another reason for the dif,- iiculty has been that the receiving mechanism has been so designed that the bottles become wedged in their carrying pockets at their time ofreception into the machine. I propose to eliminate these difficulties with my improved bottle handling mechanism.

Since the bottles are quite fragile, considerable difliculty has been encountered in their handling when an attendant is made to operate the machine at high speed. As is well known, the soaking tank which is ordinarily employed for this type machine is relatively inaccessible, and the removal of broken-glass therefrom is not an easy task. With my improved mechanism bottles may be handled with great speed and assurance that they will not be broken by the handling mechanism.

The bottle receiving and discharging mechanism are designed to operate in timed relation to each other, and it is highly important that the timing remain constant, and since the likelihood of incorrect timing is considerably increased with a large number of parts, I propose to provide simplified mechanism for this purpose.

Some machines have been designed to discharge the bottles with the aid of rams or plungers. The discharge of course occurs after the cleansing and sterilizing operations, and since the cleansing operations are performed most frequently with the bottle in inverted position in its carrying cup, the plunger necessarily acts upon the mouth of the bottle in ejecting it from its cup. There is always danger of contamination of the bottles by the rams. With my handling mechanism no ram is used, nor is there any mechanism which touches the mouth of the bottle after it receives its sterilizing rinse.

With the above and other objects in view, a description of my mechanism with reference to the accompanying drawings is hereinafter set out.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the front portion of a bottle washing machine equipped with my handling mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the rear and remaining portion of the machine shown in part in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of part f the mechanism used for pushing the bottles outwardly from the machine;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the members shown in Fig. 3, and illustrates more clearly the adjustable cam shoe which I employ;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view of the feeding connecting rod shown in part in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a sectional View, taken substantially on the line '7--7 of Fig. 6, and shows the bottle discharging mechanism at a period of operation when the bottle is being discharged from its carrying cup;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view with the mechanism in position after the bottles have been placed on a transversely arranged conveyor belt, and also illustrates the position of the receiving mechanism just after the bottles have been partially received into their carrying cups;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the receiving end of the mechanism, and illustrates the conveyor and mechanism upon which the bottles are placed by the attendant for their introduction into the machine;

Fig. 10 isv a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9, but the brushing mechanism described in an application filed by me on even date herewith, and entitled Bottle washing and conveying mechanism, Serial No. 691,122, located beneath the conveyor belt, is in its forward and operating position;

Fig. 11 is a sectional detail view of part of the intermittently moving transversely arranged removing conveyor employed for receiving and re- I moving the bottles after they have been discharged from the machine proper;

Fig. 12 is a sectional detail view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 11, and is taken substantially on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a sectional detail view, taken substantially on the line 13--13 of Fig. 7, and illustrates in part the descending table and related mechanism employed by me in effecting the discharge of the bottles from the machine;

Fig. 14 is a sectional detail view. taken substantially on the line 14--14 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of a row of bottle cups interposed between links of the main conveyor chains: and

Fig. 16 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 16-16 of Fig. 15.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the washing machine comprises a main housing 20 which encases most of the mechanism and has therein a soaking tank 21, cleansing spraying means 22, and conveyor chains 23 having rollers 24 traveling on guides or trackways 25. Chains 23 travel over sprockets 26 which are supported by shafts 27. A pair of longitudinally movable sprockets 28 are supported by shafts 29. The shaft 29 is supported by a pair of adjusting plates 30 having slots 31 which are slidably mounted on studs 32 supported by the side walls of housing 20. A channel iron of the framework 33 has its laterally extending fianges apertured and threaded to receive an adjusting screw 34 for the purpose of moving the plate 30. By means of plate 30 and adjusting screw 34 it can be seen that the shaft 29 may be movedlongitudinally of the machine in order to take up slack or relieve the tension on chain 23.

A pair of horizontal and longitudinally extending angle irons of framework 33 support a motor 35 and gear reduction box 36. Gear reduction box 36 has a power shaft 37 extending laterally therefrom, and sprockets 38 are keyed to shaft 37 and receive chains 39 which mesh with` sprockets 40 which are keyed to main transverse takeoff shaft 41 whose ends are received in bearings 42 secured to the side walls of housing 20. A crank 43 is keyed to each end of shaft 41, and transmits power to connecting rods 44 which are in turn connected to legs 45 of bell cranks 46. Bell cranks 46 are supported by a transversely extending shaft 47 whose ends are received in bearings 48 anchored on the side walls of housing 20. Interiorly of casing 20 a pair of arms 49 are keyed to shaft 47 and transmit power to a pair of adjustable conveyor advancing members 50 and 51 which have hook-like chain engaging ends 52 for cooperation with the cross members of conveyor chains 23. The upper extremities of members 50 and 51 are provided with arcuate cam surfaces 53 which ride on deflecting angle iron guide plates 54, and are thus raised vertically by upward movement of arms 49. Cam surfaces 53 also slide free of the cross members of chain 23 at the beginning of the upward movement of arms 49. The plates 54 are provided with a longitudinally and vertically extending flange 55 for the purpose of limiting the side movement of arms 50 and 51. The plates 54 are secured to a pair of laterally extending bracket members 56 which are anchored to the side wall of casing 20.

The other legs 57 of bell cranks 46 extend at an obtuse angle from legs 45, and pivotally receive stub shafts 58 and 59. A vertically extending table lowering arm 60 is pivoted on stub shaft 58, and a table lowering arm 61 is pivoted on stub shaft 59. Slidable block 62 is received in a groove 63 formed between spaced angle irons 64 and 65. A collar 66 is pivotally received by the end of a member, later to be described, passing through block 62, and the outer end of collar 66 abuts against arm 60. On the opposite side of the machine a similar block 67 is slidably received in a groove 68 between angle iron 69 and angle iron 70. A collar 71 is received by the end of a member, later to be described, and passing through block 67. The outer end of the collar 71 abuts against arm 61. Interposed between block 62 and block 67, and passing through them, is a transversely extending horizontal tie bar 72 having laterally extending ends which receive collars 66 and 71 and which also receive the ends of arms 60 and 61 for pivotal movement therein.

A plurality of vertically slidable headed cushioning pins 73 depend through vertical slots 74 in tie bar 72. Adjacent each end of tie bar 72 is provided a vertical slot 75 of greater dimensions than slots 74, and these are clearly illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14. A pair of vertically extending table supporting posts 76 are slidably received by slots 75, and a horizontally extending threaded bore 77 communicates by a restricted opening 78 with each of slots 75. A friction stop member 79 protrudes through each of openings 78 and frictionally engages a flattened portion 80. The friction stop members 79 are provided with enlarged heads 81 against which coiled springs 82 are pressed by set screws 83 in slots 77.

A table supporting base 84 is provided with appropriate vertical slots for the reception of the upper ends of posts 76, and horizontal and transverse pins 85 pass through base 84 and posts 76 and anchor -said base to said posts. A table member 86 is superposed on base 84, and is secured thereto by a plurality of screws. Stops 87 are bolted to angle irons 64 and 69 and serve to limit the upward movement of table supporting base 84.

A feeding conveyor mechanism, generally indicated at 88, is driven by a connecting rod 89, one end of which is pivotally secured to stub shaft 58, and the other end of which is secured to transverse stub shaft 90 and held in place by collars 91. Connecting rod 89 is shown clearly in Fig. 5, and comprises two sections, of which one is 92, and telescopes into section 93. Elongated slots 94 are provided longitudinally of and diametrically opposite each other in member 93 and receive a pin 95 which extends transversely of section 92 at a point adjacent its telescoped end. In the bore 96 of member 93 a compression spring 97 is inserted between the end of member 92 and the end of bore 96 for the purpose of urging member 92 outwardly from bore 96.

Conveyor mechanism 88, which is operated by the power transmitted through connecting rod 89, may be supported by a tank 98 which may comprise side walls 99, rear end wall 100, and fronu end wall 101. The rear end of the tank may be supported by a leg 102, and the front end of the tank may be supported by attaching plates 103 which extend forwardly parallel to the sides of tank 98 and are securely fastened to the front ends of the side walls of housing 20. The rear ends of plates 103 are electrically welded to the side walls 99 of tank 98.

Conveyor mechanism 88 comprises side supporting frames 104 and 105 whose front upper ends are curved as at 106, and whose lower front ends are square and abut closely against the front end wall 101 of tank 98. A shaft 107 extends transversely of frame members 104 and 105 and the side walls 99, and passes through an aperture in each of said walls. Bearings 108 are provided in the apertures of side walls 99, and thus support shaft107 for rotative movement therein. Intermediate the ends of shaft 107, and between the side frame members 104 and 105, a pair of spaced sprockets 109 are mounted on said shaft and are held in spaced relation by collars 110. The sprockets 109 receive conveyor chains 111 which extend rearwardly and horizontally to be engaged by sprockets 112 which are pivotally mounted on shaft 113 and maintained in spaced relation by collars 114 adjacent the opposite side frame members 104 and 105. The ends of shaft 113 are received in appropriate apertures in frame members 104 and 105. A plurality of flat slat-like transverse links 115 span the space between chains 111 and are secured to the links of said chains, and inverted T irons 116 are secured to each fourth link of chainslll, and thus cooperate with slats 115 in forming a continuous belt, with the upstanding portions of T irons 116 forming transverse partitions. The ends of T irons 116 closer to frame member 104 have their upstanding flanges cut vertically and bent rearwardly to form pawl engaging teeth 117 for the purpose of being engaged by an elongated pawl 118, one end of which is pivotally mounted on the inner end of stub shaft 90. The lstub shaft 90 is pivotally connected to shaft 107 by connecting link 119 which extends upwardly and rearwardly from shaft 107 in one position of operation. A stop pin 120 is mounted on side supporting frame 104 adjacent its upper edge, and limits rearward movement of link 119. A collar 121 maintains the lower end of link 119 in close proximity to frame member 104 on shaft 107, and a collar 122 performs a similar function in regard to the upper end of link 119 on stub shaft 90. A cross tie member 123 secures the rear ends of frame members 104 and 105 together in spaced relation, and supports the parallel longitudinal bottle guides 124. A pair of rearwardly longitudinally extending supporting arms 125 are secured on the side frame members 104 and 105 and receive support at their rear ends on rear wall 100 of tank 98.

To the front end wall 101 of tank 98 is secured an angle plate 126 which is interposed in the space between the tank 98 and the housing 20. Plate 126 supports a plurality of longitudinally extending U-shaped bottle chutes 127 which register with the spaces rdefined by bottle guides 124 and are inclined downwardly at an angle of substantially 45 degrees. Chutes 127 are preferably made of wood and provided with forwardly extending tongues 128 which overlap the space between chutes 127 and hinged swinging chutes 129 which are secured to plate 130 which extends transversely of the chutes 129. Rearwardly extending stop arms l31are secured to the rear edge of plate 130 and carry counterweights 132. Angle brackets 133- carry adjusting screws 134 upon which counterweights 132 rest and thus limit the elevation of the front ends of chutes 129. Hinges 135 secure plate 130 to the inside of the rear Wall of housing 20. Adjusting screws 134 are adapted to raise and lower arms 131 and thus raise and lower the front ends of chutes 129 so ,that they will register with bottle cups 136.

Bottle cups 136 are shown particularly in Figs. 15 and 16, and are preferably formed by a pair of counterpart sections 137, each of which forms a half of the cups as shown in Fig. 16. Since the parts 137 are integral, each half of the cup contained in each part is maintained in proper relation to all other halves. Lat-erally extending lugs 138 are secured by bolts 139 to angle brackets 140 which are electrically welded to the inside links 141 of conveyor chain 23. It can be seen that by placing the counterparts 137 together with their open sides facing each other, a plurality of cups are formed, and by securing them to opposite chains 23 the chains are also held in proper transverse relation to each other so that the chains will pursue their paths ldefined by guides 25 in the same relation to each other at all times. The lower portions of cups l136 are frustro-conical in outline, and are formed by integral depending fingers 142 which serve to center the bottles in the cups 136. The spaced fingers 142 also permit the water in the soaking tank to enter the cups more readily for the purpose of cleansing the exteriors of the bottles. As the cups are carried through the soaking tank by the conveyor chains,

lthe agitation caused bythe movement aids in freeing foreign matter. y

At this point it is well to note that verticalparallel openings 143 are provided by the particular spacing of ngers 142. Pins 144 maintain the inside links and outside links of the conveyor chain together and provide a support for rollers 24 heretofore described which ride on guides 25. As the baskets of bottles are forced downwardly by the conveyor advancing members, the bottles follow an arc concentric to that of the lower front sprockets 26, and are brought from an angle of approximately 45 degrees to a horizontal position in which the water in soaking tank 21 enters the bottles, and by the time they reach the lowest point of the sprocket they are entirely lled with the soaking solution. During this time the bottles might tend to fall from the individual pockets, but the bottle guides 145 serve as a stop to limit the movement of the bottles in their pockets, and the force of the conveyor causes the bottles to Slide along the guides until they reach the extreme opposite end and start upwardly and forwardly, as shown particularly in Fig. 2. As the bottles are brought upwardly and forwardly at the opposite end of the machine and traverse the space between lower back sprockets 26 and upper adjustable sprockets 30, the cleansing solution from the soaking tank is permitted to drain from the bottles and be returned into the soaking tank. The bottles then proceed forwardly to receive various sprays from cleansing means 22, and then Aproceed upwardly and forwardly so that complete drainage of a bottle from its interior and its exterior top may be effected. The conveyor guides at this point follow an arc concentric to upper front sprocket 26, and bottle guide plate 146 retans the bottles in their pockets in a manner similar to bottle guides 145. As the bottles come to a substantially vertical position they come in contact with an accelerating roller 147, which will presently be described.

The bottle guide plate 146 is provided with an adjustable set screw 148 for the purpose of guiding the bottles to the highest point of roller 147. Roller 147 is mounted on a transversely extending shaft 149 which has a pair of spindles 1,50 anchored in roller brackets 151 which are mounted on the vertical longitudinally extending flanges of angle iron 64. Between the end of roller 147 and its mounting in one of brackets 151 a sprocket 152 may be keyed to shaft 149 and secured in place by a collar 153. A chain 154 meshes with the teeth of sprocket 152, and one end of said chain is secured to a bracket 155 which is secured adjacent the front edge and to one end of tie bar 72. A grooved pulley 156 may be secured to the corresponding side wall of housing 20 at a point above and to the rear of sprocket 152. From the pulley 156 the chain passes downwardly and forwardly to a coil spring 157, and is secured thereto. The coil spring 157 is secured to a pin 158 mounted on one of the lateral faces of conveyor advancing member 50. As can be seen from Figs. l, 6, and 8, the conveyor advancing members 50 will be moving downwardly when table lowering arms 60 and 61, carrying tie bar 72, are moving upwardly, and thus chain 154 will be drawn over sprocket 152 and thus cause rotation of roller 147. The coil spring 157 will take up any slack which might be present, and also afford a cushion to provide a smoother operation. Because of the size and construction of sprocket 152 and the movement and construction of the chain 154, its pulley 156, its mounting, and the chains path of movement, the roller 147 will be rotating in a clockwise direction at ahigher rate of speed than the sprockets 26, and will consequently tend to agitate the bottles in their cups and thus loosen them. At the same time the bottles will be forced into the vertical position shown at'159 in Figs. l and 7, and will then drop to table 86 when they have passed roller 147.

Table lowering arms 60 and 61, upon moving downwardly, will lower tie bar 72 and table 86 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 8, and table 86 will be stopped by an angle iron stop 160. Since table supporting posts 76 are only frictionally held in vertical slots in tie bar 72, continued downward movement of table links 60 and 61 after table 86 abuts against its stop 160 will cause the tie bar 72 to be drawn downwardly to the position indicated in Fig. 8, and will allow cushioning pins 73 to depend downwardly through the openings 143 between fingers 142 of bottle cups 136.

A pair of adjustable cam shoes 161 and 162 are mounted on table arms 60 and 61, respectively, and as the arms 60 and 61 approach the extreme lower limit of their travel, cam shoes 161 and 162 contact with'cams 163 and 164 which are carried by bottle ejecting arms 165 and 166 which are pivotally mounted on shaft 27 which carries front lower sprockets 26. Cam shoes 161 and 162 force arms 165 and 166 forwardly from the position indicated in Fig. 1 to the position indicated in Fig. 8. A pivotally mounted rod 167 is mounted in bearings in the upper portions of arms 165 and 166, and is provided with a pair of slots 168 into which the longitudinal arms 169 of a U- shaped bottle ejeoting member 170 are adapted to be received and held in place by locking screws 171. A pair of stop lugs 172 are keyed to rod 167, and are adapted to abut against stop pins 173 mounted on the inner faces of arms 165 and 166, and thus limit the downward movement of U-shaped member 170. The spring supporting brackets 174 are also mounted on the inner faces of arms 165 and 166 at a point adjacent their upper extremities, and receive coiled returning springs 175 which extend rearwardly and are secured to front channel irons of framework 33 by tie bolts 176. A pair of arcuate slots 177 are provided in the side walls of housing 20 so as to permit the movement of rod 167.

Before the bottles are brought to the position shown in Fig. 8 by the ejecting member 170 they are resting on table 86 and may be inspected, since a light 178 is mounted in the curved reflecting plate 179 which is located behind the bottles and in the U-shaped opening between upper front sprocket 26 and lower front sprocket 26.

It will be noted that when the bottles are in position for inspection they are on table 86 which is stopped` from further downward movement by transverse angle vstop plate 160 whose upper and horizontal ange is substantially level with the upper horizontal flange of removing conveyor track 180. Ihe table 86 is of suicient longitudinal dimension to extend across angle stop plate 160 and past the point where removing conveyor track 180 abuts against angle stop plate 160. 'Irack 180 and stop plate 160 are mounted on the vertically extending angle irons 64.

A transversely extending removing conveyor unit 181 comprises vertically extending rear plates 182 which lie transversely of the machine and are on opposite sides thereof. Angle irons 183 have their transverse flanges secured to the front walls of plates 182, and have their longitudinal flanges secured to the longitudinal flanges of angle irons 64. Front conveyor plates 184 lie parallel to rear plates 182, and are also placed on opposite sides of the machine. Each opposite pair of plates on each side of the machine is held together by channel irons 185 and transversely extending angle iron 186 lying in substantially the same plane as conveyor trackway 180, spans thespace between front plates 184, and the horizontal fla-nge of angle iron 186 serves as an opposite guideway for conveyor belt 187. The opposite ends of angle iron or track 186 are secured to front plates 184.

Between rear plates 182 and front plates 184 shafts 188 may be anchored in rear bearings 189 secured to rear plates 182, and in front bearings 190 secured in front plates 184. Shafts 188 are in a longitudinal horizontal position and may have a sprocket 191 secured to each of them intermediate the front bearings and rear bearings. One of said shafts 188 may have a ratchet plate 192 -keyed thereto on the side of the front plate 184 opposite from the front bearing 190. 'Ihe ratchet plate 192 may be provided with oppositely disposed notches 193 which serve as teeth for pawls 194. Pawls 194 are secured to a circular plate 195. Plate 195 is apertured to receive shaft 188 and is pivotally mounted thereon. A sprocket 196 is bolted to plate 195, and is also apertured to receive shaft 188 but is rotatably iree on said shaft. A collar 197 retains the sprocket 196, plate 195, and ratchet plate 192 in their proper positions on shaft 188.

A conveyor chain 198 passes around sprockets 191, meshes with the teeth thereon, and carries pairs of L-sliaped lugs 199 which are secured on opposite sides of the chain 198. Conveyor belt link members 200 are secured to the L-shaped lugs 99 by means of bolts 201.

A chain 202 meshes with the teeth of sprocket 196 and has depending end 203 which is secured to eye 204 of counterweight 205. Counterweight 205 is encased in a cylindrical housing 206 which extends vertically of the machine and is secured to the side wall of the soaking tank. The other depending end 207 of chain 202 is secured to an eye 208 of.arm 209 by a link 210. Arm 209 ex- I tends longitudinally of the machine and at an angle of substantially 90 degrees to the table lowering arm 61 .to which it is attached at a point adjacent stub shaft 59 which connects arm 61 with leg 57 of -bell crank 46. An L-shaped guard 211 extends forwardly and downwardly from front plate 184 and covers sprocket 196.

A plurality of depending swinging cushions 212 are hinged to bracket 'plate 213 by hinges 214. Bracket 213 is substantially L-shaped in crosssection, and has its longer leg extending forwardly and upwardly to the point where hinges 214 are secured, and its lower leg extending vertically and secured to front plates 184 at points above shafts 188. Cushions 212 may be arcuate in cross-section, as shown particularly in Fig. 9, and may have their concave faces lined with cushioning material 215.

'Ihe operation of the entire mechanism will be set forth hereinafter in detail. It is believed that the operation of the machine may be understood more easily and clearly if the operations are described in connection with the movement of a bottle from the feeding conveyor through the entire machine and onto the removing conveyor, and consequently that plan will be followed.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the bottles are shown on feeding conveyor mechanism 88 between 1ongitudinal bottle guides 124 and inverted T irons 116 which place the bottles in direct line for entrance into chutes 127. As has been heretofore stated, the bell crank 46 is the prime mover of the machine, and as leg 57 moves downardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 it draws connecting rod 89 downwardly and forwardly, but connecting link 119 does not start to move until pin 95 in section 92 reaches the end of slots 94. When the pin 95 does reach this position the link 119 is brought forwardly and pawl 118 is brought forwardly against one of the pawl engaging teeth 117 and the feeding conveyor is moved forwardly one step. As it approaches the end of its forward movement of one step the foremost bottles in Fig. 1 topple forwardly and the necks of the bottles impinge on depending swinging cushions 212, which swing forwardly and permit the bottle to slide down the'chutes 127 with necksforemost. Since the bottle chutes 127 are arranged in a longitudinally downwardly slantlng position, they guide the bottles forwardly and downwardly onto forwardly extending tongues 128 and into hinged swinging chutes 129, and thence into bottle cups 136. As the bottle necks approach the bottoms of the bottle cups they impinge upon downwardly extending cushioning pins 73 which are in their lowered position and extend through openings 143 in bottle cups 136. When legs 57 of bell cranks 46 start upwardly pins 72 are raised from the position shown in Fig. 8, and upon clearing the upper walls of the bottle cups permit the bottles to slide upwardly and downwardly into the cups.

It is to be here noted that at the time legs 57 of bell cranks 46 are in their downward position the conveyor advancing arms 50 and 51 are in their uppermost position and are not advancing the main conveyor chains 23. Ordinarily the bottles will slide into cups 136 to the entire extent of their length, but in case this does not happen and the conveyor is advanced the hinged swinging chutes 129 will swing downwardly and permit the bottles to pass them withoutany breakage. After the bottle has passed the depending swinging chutes the counterweights 132. acting on stop arms 131 will cause the hinged swinging chutes to be returned to the position shown in Fig. l.

As leg 45 of bell crank 46 starts upwardly from the position shown in Fig. l the conveyor advancing members 50 and 51 are pushed upwardly by arms 49 and the chain engaging ends 52 are raised from the cross members of the conveyor chains and the cam surfaces 53 are forced upwardly against detleeting plates 54 and thus are maintained free from contact with the conveyor chains. However, as the bell crank leg 45 starts downwardly, arms 49 draw downwardly the conveyor advancing members 50 and 51, and the hook-like ends 52 engage the chains and advance them one step, which is of slightly greater length than the outside diameter of the bottles. Successive actuations of the conveyor advancing members bring the bottle cups 136 from an upwardly inclined position through a horizontal position, and to a downwardly inclined position, whereupon the bottoms of the bottles come in contact with and rest upon bottle guides 145. Continued and successive actuations of the conveyor advancing members cause the bottles to be taken through the soaking tank 21 with the bottles in upright position, and during these movements the water may enter the openings 143 so as to contact with the exterior portions of the botles and loosen foreign matter from the exteriors thereof. The movements in the soaking tank of course agitate the vwater and aid considerably in the cleansing process;

The bottles are conveyed in this step by step manner through the soaking tank in a horizontal direction, and are finally brought to the end of the soaking tank and the conveyor chains 23 follow the path defined by sprockets 27 and the cups are brought upwardly and then in reverse direction. During this rising and reversal the bottles are held in the cups by the bottle guides 145 which extend upwardly to a point beyond that at which the bottles reach a horizontal position, and thus prevent the bottles from being dropped from the cups. As the conveyor chains pass upwardly and in reverse direction they travel in an inclined path so that the liquid from the soaking tank may be drained from the bottles and pass thence over movable sprockets 28 and then in a horizontal direction for a period of time while the cleansing spraying means 22 act upon the exteriors and interiors of the bottles. After leaving the positionl where the cleansing spraying means are operating upon the bottles, the conveyor trackways 25 incline upwardly and forwardly so as to permit the liquid used in spraying to be drained from the recesses in the bottoms of the bottles. The trackways 25 then extend in a horizontal direction to points adjacent upper front sprockets 26 where the chains are engaged by the teeth of said sprockets. The chains and bottle cups then follow the path dened by the sprockets 26, and as the bottles leave their horizontal positions theirybottoms come in contact with bottle guide plate 146 which prevents their dropping from their cups.

As the conveyor advancing members 50 and 51 continue their actuations they draw conveyor chains 23 around sprockets 26 and carryvthe bottles along guide 146 toward the lowermost portion thereof. As they reach the end of 146, as shown particularly in Fig. 14, the bottoms of the bottles come in contact with roller 147 which is being rotated in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 14, by chain 154. Chain 154 is moved by the downward movement of conveyor advancing member 50 which pulls the chain 154 over the groovedpulley 156. The opposite end of the chain, as heretofore described, is secured to bracket 155, which in turn is secured to tie bar 72 which is being pushed upwardly by table lowering arms and 61 at the same time that the conveyor advancing members are descending. Due to the number of teeth in sprocket 152 and the length and speed of movement of conveyor advancing member 50, the roller 147 is rotating quite rapidly during the time immediately prior to the time that bottles reach the vertical position quently aids in loosening the bottles from the cups, and also aids in bringing the bottles to a vertical position. When the bottles have passed the roller 147 they immediatelydrop to table member 86, and as table lowering arms 60 and shown at 159 in Figs. l and 7, and conse- 61 are moved downwardly by bell crank 46 the bottles descend upon. the table to a point where the front edge of the table contacts with table stop 160. However, the arms and 61 continue their movement after bringing the table to the stop 160, and the tie ban 72 is drawn further downwardly by its connection with blocks 62 and 67. During this further movement table posts 76 are sliding in vertical slots 75, and the lost motion thus provided enables the table lowering arms 60 and 61 to carry cam shoes 161 and 162 to a point where they impinge upon cams 163 and 164 in order to force bottle ejecting arms 165 and 166 forwardly and carry U-shaped bottle ejecting member forwardly into contact with the bottles resting on table 86 and push them forwardly to the removing conveyor unit 181.

When the table lowering members 60 and 61 Vhave reached the full limit of their travel and have started their upward movement, the coiled springs draw the bottle ejecting arms 165 and 166 rearwardly so that U-shaped bottle. ejecting member 170 is drawn back smoothly by the opposing force of the coiled springs and the cams on cam shoes 161 and 162. The bottles rest on the belt links 200 of removing conveyor 181 until the table lowering arms 60 and 61 have returned to their highest positions, and during this time the sprocket 196 is turned in a clockwise direction by the action of chain 202, whose end 203'is being drawn downwardly in cylindrical housing 206 by counterweight 205 at the same time that end 207 is being raised by table lowering arm 61 through arm 209 which is secured to arm 61. Since the sprocket 196 is traveling in a clockwise direction, it can be seen from Figs. 11 and 12 that the pawls 194 on circular plate will be drawn from notches 193 of ratchet plate 192, and will cause no move@ ment of said ratchet plate. However, after the table lowering arms 60 and 6l have reached their upward limit of travel and start downwardly, conveying a new supply of clean bottles, the arm 209 will draw the end 207 of chain 202 downwardly and cause sprocket 196 to turn in a counter-clockwise direction; and since pawls 194 are pivotally mounted and operated by gravity they will drop into notches 193 on ratchet plate 192 and cause rotation of sprocket 191, and the removing conveyor chain 198 which passes around the spockets 191 will be moved to the left, as shown particularly in Fig. 6,*and cause the bottles to move on the removing conveyor to an appropriate conveyor or table (not shown).

The brushing tank 98 and the brushing mechanism contained therein and used in connection with the feeding conveyor shown in the drawings of this application, are more particularly shown and described in an application led by me on even date herewith and entitled Bottle washing and conveying mechanism, Serial No. 691,122, wherein those parts of the mechanism are claimed. Another application, filed by me on even date herewith, and entitled Bottle handling mechanism, Serial No. 691,124, has claims therein directed particularly to the bottle ejecting mechanism shown in this application.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In bottle handling mechanism for a washing machine having conveying means and means for cleansing articles, the combination of bottle .receiving mechanism and bottle discharging mechanism, and means under the control of said discharging mechanism forv cushioning bottles being received by said receiving mechanism.

2. Bottle handling mechanism comprising conveying means including bottle carrying cups having slots therein, means for feeding bottles into said cups, and cushioning means for entering the slots of said cups for the purpose of breaking the fall of bottles being received by said cups.

3. Bottle handling mechanism comprising conveying means including bottle carrying cups, bottle feeding mechanism comprising feeding conveyor mechanism and chute mechanism, said feeding conveyor mechanism being adapted to discharge bottles into said chute mechanism and said chute mechanism being adapted to convey and discharge bottles into said bottle carrying cups and means moving into and out of said cups for cushioning the fall of bottles into said cups.

4. Bottle handling mechanism having conveying means including bottle carrying cups with elongated slots therein, feeding conveyor, and chute mechanism for moving bottles into said cups and means moving into and out of said slots for cushioning, bottles being received into said cups.

5. Bottle handling mechanism comprising conveying mechanism having bottle carrying cups mounted thereon, and means for feeding bottles into said cups, said means comprising feeding conveyor mechanism, chute mechanism having a hinged portion and means operating into and out of said cups for cushioning the fall of bottles being received in said cups.

6. Bottle handling mechanism comprising conveying means and bottle carrying cups mounted thereon, and means for feeding bottles into said cups, said means comprising a feeding conveyor, and chute mechanism including a hinged chute section, said hinged chute section being so constructed and arranged to be swung on its pivot by a protruding bottle when said conveyor is moved while said bottle is still protruding from one of said cups.

7. Bottle handling mechanism comprising conveying means having bottle carrying cupsmounted thereon, elongated slots in said cups, means for feeding bottles into said cups. said means comprising conveyor and chute mechanism, a cushioning pin movable into and out of said cups, and means for actuating said feeding conveyor, and means for moving said cushioning pin.

8. Bottle handling mechanism comprising conveying means having bottle carrying cups mounted thereon, elongated slots in said cups. means for feeding bottles into said cups, said means comprising conveyor and chute mechanism, a cushioning pin movable into and out of said cups, and means for actuating said feeding conveyor, means for moving said cushioning pin, said means for actuating said feeding conveyor including a lost motion connector between said feeding conveyor and said means for actuating said feeding conveyor.

ROBERT J. WYNNE. 

